In Japan, in the published Japanese Patent Application, First Publication No. Hei 6-55402 (Japanese Patent Application, Second Publication No. Hei 7-55437), a technology related to a cutter cooler and a particulate scrap collector in a processing machine is disclosed. In this conventional technology, by using a flexible hood, a cooling-collecting housing covering a cutter is brought into tight contact with the work, forming a closed space, and the particulate scraps produced by the processing are sucked up and collected by a vacuum particle suction apparatus connected to the cooling-collecting housing. Then, after blowing the cool air on the cutter, once the particulate scraps are blown upward off the cutter, they are and gathered in an exhaust duct.
In addition, similarly in Japanese Patent Publication, First Publication H 6-71539, a table which moves the work in the x-y direction, a vertically moving cutter, and a collection mechanism which collects particulate scraps produced by the cutting of said cutter is described. This collecting mechanism is brought close to said movable duct in the horizontal direction of the cutter, blows air on the section of the work being cut from a nozzle built into said movable duct, and recovers the particulate scraps by a relay duct connected to said movable duct. This relay duct, following the movement of the cutter when it is moving vertically, is enclosed in the recovery duct. When the cutter is replaced, it is raised while the movable duct is retracted, and the cutter is replaced using the tool replacement apparatus.
However, the technology described in the above mentioned Japanese Patent Application, First Publication No. Hei 6-55402 processes the work by moving the cutter inside a stationary cooling-collecting housing formed by the upper mounting member, the middle mounting member, the lower mounting member, and the hood mounting member, but the vertical movement stroke of the cutter is limited, for example, by the height dimensions of the cooling-collecting housing. Therefore, even if the vertical movement stroke of the cutter is small, while it is possible to collect effectively the particulate scraps from flat work which can be processed, for a large solid work of relatively great height, it is difficult to achieve efficient collection of particulate scraps. Also, the direction of the blowing of the cooling air towards the cutter is stationary, and it is not a changeable structure such that cooled air is blown on the cutter in the most suitable conditions.
In contrast, in the conventional technology described in Japanese Patent Application, First Publication Hei 6-71539, the whole cutter is not covered by the ducts, etc., and because between the cutter and the work a gap is created while processing, particulate scraps are easily carried to these gaps. Also, during the cutting process in the horizontal direction, when cutting in one direction particulate scrap collection can be effectively performed, while when processing in the in the opposite direction during processing, the collection of particulate scraps is difficult. For example, when cutting proceeds at a certain height in the right direction, then cutting after changing the direction 90.degree., and finally cutting in the opposite direction, when cutting in each of the opposite directions, because the particulate scraps scatter in the direction opposite of the movable duct, the particulate scraps cannot be effectively collected. As a result, it is frequently necessary to clean the inside of the apparatus.